Health Dental Center Receives $177,300 Grant
The FirstHealth Dental Care Center in Southern Pines, established in 1998, to provide care to low-income children up to age 18. It serves a target population of nearly 18,000 children in Moore, Montgomery and Hoke counties who are medically indigent or are on public assistance. In Moore County, 7,800 children qualify as medically indigent.
FirstHealth of the Carolinas is a private, nonprofit health-care network headquartered in Pinehurst, serving 15 counties in the central Carolinas. The Southern Pines facility is one of three full-time centers in Troy and Refold serve medically indigent children.
The center has served more than 12,000 children since opening the first office in Southern Pines in October 1998. The fifty five percent of patients are between the ages of 6 and 12, twenty five percent are between birth and age 5, thirteen percent are between 13 and 15 and seven percent are between 16 and 18. Forty-four percent of the patients are black, 36 percent white, 13 percent are Hispanic, 4 percent are Native-American and 1 percent are Asian or other
State House Speaker Pro Tem Richard Morgan recently announced a $177,300 grant to improve the quality of dental care in Moore County for disadvantaged children. The grant is intended to increase by fifty percent the number of patients who can visit the Southern Pines facility each year.
The grant from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services will meet needs at the Southern Pines facility. Since their inception, the Dental Care Centers have served over 11,000 patients.
Morgan thanked FirstHealth’s strong community partnerships and hard-working dental professionals such as Dr. Sharon Nicholson Harrell, Moore County is providing care to the kids who need it most in the Sand hills. Since target audience exceeds the current facilities, this grant will greatly increase the number of children who can be served by the Southern Pines facility.
Dr. Harrell, director of FirstHealth Dental Care Centers, expressed his views saying that he was very much excited to expand the Southern Pines clinic and purchase the new equipment, This grant will allow us to serve even more disadvantaged children in this area and allow for a high use of technology. He also said that he truly appreciates Speaker Pro Tem Morgan’s generosity and understanding the importance of dental health in our children.
About $164,300 of the grant will be dedicated to the expansion of the Southern Pines facility to add two additional treatment rooms and a consultation room to allow medical staff to meet with parents and patients to discuss treatment. The remainder of the money will purchase dental equipment, including a Prophy Jet Cavitron Combo Machine, a Statim Sterilizer and three Slow Speed Handpieces.
The FirstHealth medical services include three hospitals, a skilled nursing facility, centers for inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation, a hospice program, community outreach programs, centers for health and fitness, primary care practices, EMS and critical care transport services, a non-profit HMO, a philanthropic foundation and a host of other services.